Apparatus for assistance in putting on and removing footwear
Apparatus to facilitate putting on and removing footwear. The apparatus may be swivelably coupled to a chair where handles are provided to rotate an arm which is coupled to a footrest. By moving the arm, which is at seat level, the footrest is movable between a stowed position and an operative, forward position.
This invention relates generally to a tool to facilitate donning and removing footwear, and more particularly to a mechanism for moving a footrest with respect to a chair for that purpose.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ARTThere are many people who have difficulty in putting on and taking off socks and shoes or other types of footwear. The difficulty may result from reduced flexibility due to advancing age, or to body limitations from other physical issues.
A number of proposals have been made to assist people in these foot dressing and undressing endeavors. Many involve standing, with some bending, to use a long-handled shoehorn or wedge (long used to engage the heel portion of a shoe or boot to assist in removal from the foot). Maintaining upright stability while using these aids is challenging for many people. A simple stool can be used, but if the person has difficulty in bending while standing, a stool can be inadequate. Further, standing and lifting a foot onto a stool can be challenging for a person who is somewhat unsteady or has balance issues. Chairs and stools with fixed footrests have also been proposed.
A footrest of the type employed by a shoeshine person can be helpful, but it, too, has limitations. It is typically a removable device that is put in place after the user (person with shoes on their feet) has sat in the chair provided. That footrest is fixed in place, or is completely removed with no provision for easily moving it into operative position. Simple home shoeshine stools/boxes are available. For an able-bodied person, he can put one foot in place and shine his shoe. It is actually a different form of a one position, portable, footrest and does not facilitate use by a person of limited bending ability and possibly limited stability or balance ability to put on and take off footwear.
In some prior attempts to provide a structure to make dressing and undressing a person's feet as comfortable and as easy as possible, a stool has been provided that is manually pulled out from and returned to a home, or non-operative, position under a chair, for example. Such structures require as much or more bending as it does to use a stool by itself. The bending and balancing involved in many of the known devices could potentially compromise the safety of the user.
SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTIONThe apparatus disclosed here provides a convenient, comfortable setup for a person to be seated and have a footrest in position for use, which footrest can be moved out of the way when not needed.
A mechanism is rotatably mounted to a chair and swivelably or slidably coupled to the footrest to enable the footrest to be deployed to a functional position by means of a lever, and returned to a stowed position by reverse movement of the lever, all while the user is stably seated and requiring a minimum arm effort.
In a preferred embodiment the chair has a back and arms. The arms are to assist the user in sitting and in standing, while the chair back provides both safety and comfort functions.
Sitting, instead of standing, increases stability and adds leverage for completing the task of independently putting on and taking off shoes and socks. Furthermore, sitting and elevating the foot onto a stool or step provides the optimum in comfort, balance, and safety.
The apparatus described herein provides a comfortable seat and an easy-to-deploy footrest so that users may more easily and safely complete their shodding and unshodding tasks.
The objects, features, and advantages of the apparatus will be more clearly perceived from the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:
With reference now to the drawing, and more particularly to
An example of mechanism 22 is shown in
The lengths of arm 31 and first bracket 32 are not fixed, but arm 31 must be shorter than the distance from the bottom of the chair seat to the floor.
It can easily be seen from
As shown in
As an optional or alternative embodiment,
Another alternative or optional footrest embodiment is shown in
Another alternative embodiment is shown in
Two approaches for mounting the mechanism of
Any chair may be combined or incorporated with the footrest and the mechanism of the figures. However, the footrest and mechanism could be retrofitted to a chair. It would, therefore, be sold separately. Further, although the chair shown in the figures includes arms 13, they are not necessary. For comfort of the user, and for use in sitting down and rising from the chair, arms are preferred.
The mechanism of
As another alternative or optional embodiment, stop element 19 having projections 19A and 19B in
An optional, alternative embodiment of the coupling from arm 31 to the footrest is shown in
It is an intention that the apparatus described and shown herein be relatively simple and easy to operate by a seated person. Also that it makes certain daily dressing functions easier, or even possible at all, for the person with limited mobility, balance, bendability, or other limitations.
Claims
1. Apparatus to facilitate putting on and removing footwear by a user, the apparatus comprising:
- a chair having a seat, arm rests, and legs supporting the seat above a surface upon which the chair is supported, the legs being in direct contact with the surface;
- a movable footrest slidably supported on the surface, said footrest having a slope angled downwardly toward the chair to receive the user's feet above the surface at an angle and closer to the user to facilitate the user reaching their feet;
- a mechanism mounted to said chair and coupled to said footrest, said mechanism comprising: an elongated element rotatably mounted to said chair seat and extending beneath said chair seat; a handle secured to at least one end of said elongated element, said handle enabling said elongated element to be rotated through a limited arc; and a coupling mechanism having one end mounted to said elongated element and a second end coupled to said footrest;
- whereby movement of said handle results in sliding movement of said footrest from one position to a second position on the surface.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein
- said one position may be either under said chair or extended forward from under said chair; and
- said second position may be extended forward from under said chair or be under said chair.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said elongated element extends outward from each side of said chair and a said handle is secured to each end of said elongated element.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said coupling mechanism comprises:
- an elongated arm with one end connected to said elongated element;
- an elongated first bracket to which a second end of said elongated arm is swivably connected; and
- a second bracket to which said first bracket is swivably connected, said second bracket being connected to said footrest.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said elongated arm is longer than said elongated first bracket.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said elongated element is mounted through holes in sides of said chair seat.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, and further comprising:
- bushings mounted beneath the sides of said chair seat; wherein
- said elongated element is rotatably mounted to said bushings.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, and further comprising a stop element mounted to said chair seat and configured to limit the rotational movement of said elongated element by engaging said handle.
9. Apparatus to facilitate putting on and removing footwear by a user when seated in a chair, the chair having a seat, arm rests, and having legs in direct contact with a surface and supporting the seat on the surface, the apparatus comprising:
- a movable footrest configured to be slidably supported on the surface, said footrest having a slope angled downwardly toward the chair to receive the user's feet above the surface at an angle and closer to the user to facilitate the user reaching their feet;
- a mechanism for being mounted to said chair and coupled to said footrest, said mechanism comprising: an elongated element for being rotatably mounted to and extending beneath the chair seat; a handle secured to at least one end of said elongated element, said handle enabling said elongated element to be rotated through a limited arc; and a coupling mechanism having one end mounted to said elongated element and a second end coupled to said footrest;
- whereby movement of said handle results in slidable movement of said footrest from one position to a second position on the surface.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein
- said one position may be either under the chair or extended forward from under the chair; and
- said second position may be extended forward from under the chair or be under the chair.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said elongated element extends outward from each side of the chair and a said handle is secured to each end of said elongated element.
967452 | August 1910 | Silverman |
2658640 | November 1953 | Silverman |
2888977 | June 1959 | Bayles |
2986201 | May 1961 | McCartan |
3068047 | December 1962 | Schliephacke |
3087757 | April 1963 | Hyman |
3820844 | June 1974 | Fortnam |
4165124 | August 21, 1979 | Olan |
4765684 | August 23, 1988 | Kvalheim |
4767160 | August 30, 1988 | Mengshoel et al. |
5039167 | August 13, 1991 | Sweet |
5277477 | January 11, 1994 | Sharff |
5374102 | December 20, 1994 | Archambault |
5520436 | May 28, 1996 | Rader et al. |
5779316 | July 14, 1998 | Sugawa |
5992935 | November 30, 1999 | Duijnstee |
6036268 | March 14, 2000 | Larson |
6145931 | November 14, 2000 | Subotic |
6692078 | February 17, 2004 | Pham |
6979284 | December 27, 2005 | Curtis |
7036887 | May 2, 2006 | Kneier |
7918508 | April 5, 2011 | Whalen |
8746802 | June 10, 2014 | Delmestri |
8882190 | November 11, 2014 | Garland |
8985694 | March 24, 2015 | Fischer |
9549615 | January 24, 2017 | Su |
9609949 | April 4, 2017 | Lee |
9676302 | June 13, 2017 | Yang |
10456308 | October 29, 2019 | Ditor |
20020060491 | May 23, 2002 | Kneier |
20050225151 | October 13, 2005 | Zenisek |
20140103691 | April 17, 2014 | Boyd |
20140123455 | May 8, 2014 | Mishica |
20150305507 | October 29, 2015 | Besler |
107183986 | September 2017 | CN |
Type: Grant
Filed: Jan 13, 2020
Date of Patent: Jan 12, 2021
Inventor: Robert A. Deane (Encinitas, CA)
Primary Examiner: Syed A Islam
Application Number: 16/741,629
International Classification: A47C 7/50 (20060101); A43B 11/00 (20060101); B64D 11/06 (20060101); A47C 7/52 (20060101); A47C 9/00 (20060101);